The world is changing in a different way than we've previously seen with AI. Previously, we've had deterministic functions where you can put the same input in and get (relatively) the same output out. Now, systems are stochastic because AI can generate new thoughts and ideas. Even people creating AI don't exactly know what's happening.
Notes
I think we see this cultural shift happen a lot throughout history:
Socrates was famously against the idea of writing, believing that people would rely on external marks than utilizing what they had in their mind.
Morris was skeptical of using industrial machinery, arguing that people would become servants of machinery.
Warner was uncertain about sound films because previously actors didn't talk in film.
etc.
The list can go on. Of course, it's not as if these arguments are incorrect. They were based on the information that was available to them at the time.
It goes without saying that the AI wave feels different. Being actively in the change makes us question it more. Those voices shouldn't go unheard.
This essay really provides a nuanced view about the grey area of AI, what it means to be at the beginning of a forefront piece of technology.
